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Tuesday, November 30, 2010

I had the pleasure, and I use that word in it's most sincere and appreciative form, to sit in on Grant Lawrence's engaging reading of his book, Adventures in Solitude.

On a cold and dreary overcast Grey Cup Sunday at McNally Robinson, Lawrence warmed a room of about 20 guests by reading two excerpts from Adventures in Solitude. Hilarious tales of nudist colonies were interwoven within his descriptive lexicon for the love he has for Desolation Bay, BC. Lawrence provides his reader with a memoir-based account of his coming of age within the remote BC community. He affectionately calls Adventures in Solitude a love story. "It's a story of love of the people and land that make Desolation Bay such a wonderful place," said Lawrence.

Lawrence, who hosts the highly rated CBC Radio 3 Podcast with Grant Lawrence, and makes appearances on other CBC Radio programs, was engaging and interesting. He spoke with extreme confidence and profound humbleness as he read to the eager crowd. He also gave a well-received shout out to Winnipeg by professing his admiration for our local music scene, which he says is made of bands that play "thesaurus rock."

Lawrence went beyond words in his admiration for our city, by sporting a retro-style Winnipeg Jets toque, which complemented his hipster appearance, complete with a Movember moustache, and a faded plaid dress shirt.

Between the vivid, yet casual tone of his readings, Lawrence's words were intermissioned by the live music of local musician Del Barber. Barber, who hearkened images of a young Bob Dylan through his appearance and nature of his music, performed two songs. The songs he performed with his guitar attempted to complement the readings, and did so with haunting success. I HIGHLY suggest you pick up his album, Love Songs For The Next 20, and check out my personal favorite, and one he performed at the reading, 62 Richmond.